


Sinners & Saints (and the ones who rule them)

by berrybliss



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AkaKuro also being protective of each other, AkaKuro being powerful, Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Half-brothers!AkaKuro, M/M, it's not a romantic love per se, questionable relationship tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 10:37:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14788931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/berrybliss/pseuds/berrybliss
Summary: Tetsuya and Seijuurou are brothers, but they’re also each other’s most trusted confidantes, and each other’s safe haven.“Heaven doesn’t differ much from Hell.” Seijuurou whispers, “They take different forms, yet are one and the same.”“Not unlike the two of us, then.”Here is the death of childhood.





	Sinners & Saints (and the ones who rule them)

**Author's Note:**

> I was writing happy!AkaKuro but that fanfic killed itself pretty quickly. >:D huehuehue  
> This is somewhat inspired by Urd and Belldandy from the Ah My Goddess series. Their childhood relationship reminds me of AkaKuro. That meant angels and demons AU. AkaKuro has always struck me as a bit of both (individually).  
> Hell, THIS fanfic was supposed to be funny. The original title was even something like “hell is empty and brother dearest is here” but I’m really not good at coming up with creative scenarios where Akashi is an extra-brotherTM, so that idea also went down the drain. Maybe someday. //nods  
> Akashi and Kuroko really love each other here. It's not an infatuation kind of thing, even, but a "you're family and I would do anything for you" kind of thing, and that is equally important. //squeezes chest I love AkaKuro brothers hieeeee

Tetsuya has never had a chance at a proper romantic relationship, but in retrospect, that’s probably his brother’s fault.

Seijuurou takes after his mother a bit too much, but Tetsuya’s been told that too, far more times than he can count. Certainly more times than how his brother has interfered, or to some extent _tampered_ , with every relationship he’s been in. That’s definitely a good thing.

The thing is, Seijuurou’s the only demon that Tetsuya is close with. He isn’t even a full-fledged demon, but a Halfling – ever since Queen Shiori’s passing, the throne and all the obligations that come with it, have been passed to him, Shiori’s only son. There aren’t many who are very happy with that.  

But his responsibilities as King of the Netherworld do not stop Seijuurou from visiting Tetsuya. It’s a surprise that Tetsuya’s sanity is still intact.

Seijuurou isn’t the most unusual visitor to be seen walking into the Cloud Palace, the Aetherworld’s headquarters. Better him being seen at Heaven’s doors than Tetsuya’s anywhere near Hell’s.

It’s never a good idea to let Tetsuya anywhere near Hell in the first place. He’s already been to once, and that had ended in blood being spilled.

Has it really been so long?

“I repeat, Sei, voyeurism is a human thing, but not all are fond of it. Far less condone it.”

Seijuurou gives him an amused look. Tetsuya’s frown deepens, and so does his disapproval as Seijuurou says, “My question was well-intentioned. It wasn’t an unfounded concern.”

“Oh, I’m sure it was.”

“You weren’t even at foreplay anymore by then. It was a miscalculation on my part, and for that I am sorry.”

“My affairs are mine. You don’t see me peeking into yours, do you?”

“That’s because mine aren’t of much interest.” He picks a grape from the bowl, “Have more faith in your nii-san.”

Seijuurou will never cease to remind him, will he?

“I am never calling you that again."

Seijuurou’s eyes fill with hollow mirth. “And for that I am moderately saddened.”

Tetsuya sighs. He’d been _so careful_ this time, even going as far as casting wards while his boyfriend – now ex-boyfriend – wasn’t looking, wards to repel Seijuurou in particular. It’s frustrating that Seijuurou is powerful enough to just snoop into his business wherever, whenever. It’s perfectly laughable, because Tetsuya knows that for a fact, Seijuurou can watch from anywhere, and that he doesn’t need to appear at all. He just chooses to.

Idly, Tetsuya lets a knife dance in the air with his hand. It’s high enough such that Seijuurou sees it from the other side of the table.

“Why mortals, of all things?”

Seijuurou eyes him curiously, his voice echoing inside the chamber. It’s just the two of them, and in private moments, it’s not unusual that they ask such personal questions.

Tetsuya considers this, though he already knows the answer.     

 “I have no plans of taking the throne, no matter how much father wants me to.” He lets the knife down, fingers curling around the cup beside him instead. He brings it to his lips, and drinks. It doesn’t do well to wipe out the bitter taste in his tongue, no matter how sweet the wine. “Humankind isn’t much better than us, but at least my value to them goes far beyond my birthright.”

“Did you ever have a choice in the matter of succession?”

Tetsuya levels his gaze. “Did you?” He shoots back, hitting where it had intended to – it is almost like applying salt on an old wound.

Seijuurou tips his head back. “How cowardly,” He remarks, his eyes narrowing into slits. “It’s unlike you. Although, it’s not as if I don’t understand.”

“I have no delusions that the throne will be mine.” The air around them stirs with a quality of anger. “You aren’t anyone to say what is or isn’t like me.” 

Seijuurou sighs. “I know you well enough to know that you’ll get hurt if you don’t tread more carefully, Tetsuya.”

And he actually looks concerned. Tetsuya silently thanks him for it, and that’s enough, because Seijuurou can hear just fine. It’s when Tetsuya’s eyes soften from the tempered steel they usually are, and they’re back to being children again, depending on each other.

“The moment father finds me disagreeable is the moment I’m free.”

“Is it love, then? What you feel with your pursuits?”

“No,” Tetsuya says quietly after him, “Not always.”

Seijuurou doesn’t quite know the word in the same way Tetsuya does, and he doesn’t pretend to, but in that moment, it’s a truthful admission on Tetsuya’s part, and Seijuurou doesn’t question it much further.

“I don’t know how you can accept any less.”

They both know that it is a lie.

* * *

 

The future that their father sees for Tetsuya is becoming imminent. He’s only waiting for the right time to act upon it.

“Your mother had been an agreeable match.” Father tells him. “I expect you to follow my example.”

His father had, indeed, gone to great lengths to preserve peace. By the angelic hierarchy, he is his only son and heir, when in fact, ancestral deities have never inhibited themselves from birthing numerous offspring by numerous wives. Seijuurou had been a special exception.

Heaven is full of hypocrites – none dare to call his father out on it, because they are in no position to. The only error in his father’s life is as calculated as all his other decisions. Even when he looks at Tetsuya, nothing is given away.

Without difficulty, he can already see the options laid ahead of him. The influential clans go beyond his ten fingers, but their uses are clear. His father only wants him to be safe, for his future to be secure.

Seijuurou is right. They don’t have a choice in any of this. Any other choice that Tetsuya can take is simply too cruel – not for himself, but for others. And that can’t be.

So he will have to stay.

* * *

 

During the night, Tetsuya can see flashes of his first and last visit to the Netherworld, in part because he silently thinks to himself that the Aetherworld’s palaces are dimmer during the night, but never pitch black like those of down below.

Seijuurou’s robes are of the same color as the Netherworld's palaces. Wings pierce through them at his back, the moon shedding light on feathers of black and white. When they stare ahead, the capital city looks like a maze of dreams – distant and haunting and beautiful.

Far up here, Tetsuya finds comfort that the hands can’t reach him. There are all sorts of terrors, and shadows exist everywhere, even if they are deep in the halls of his own mind.

 “Thank you for coming on such short notice, Sei.”

“It is my pleasure. You don’t have to thank me, Tetsuya.” He pauses. “Would you believe that I currently hear intent?”

“Whose intent might that be?”

“That is unclear.” Seijuurou says, “It is harder when face meets face. Your kind are masters of deceit, despite what the humans may be led to believe.” _Your kind,_ because Seijuurou has never felt himself among them. “But in idleness and solitude, they stir rather loudly.”

“Would you prefer to hear them instead?” Tetsuya asks him.

“Of course not. I am here because you need someone who can listen. All other things are hardly a concern.”

Tetsuya’s lips quirk up faintly. “I am father’s key.”

Seijuurou understands what Tetsuya means by this, in all the subtext and history that come with it. “He is fond of you, yes. You can unwind him, if you wish to.”

“If that were true, I wouldn’t be in this position right now.”

 “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

“You’re right,” Tetsuya murmurs after some thought, leaning into Seijuurou’s shoulder. Seijuurou’s wings form a protective cocoon beside them, as if to protect. He cards his fingers through Tetsuya’s hair, and the gesture brings a soothing effect that makes Tetsuya close his eyes.

“Heaven doesn’t differ much from Hell.” Seijuurou whispers, “They take different forms, yet are one and the same.”

“Not unlike the two of us.” Tetsuya says this absent-mindedly, but there is truth in it. In the shared moments between them, there is an unparalleled kinship that Tetsuya has never found in anyone else. There is trust there that makes him feel safe.

“They fed my mother to the wolves.” Seijuurou utters, pronounced with contempt, “I sincerely hope father won’t make the same mistake with you.”

Heaven knows what he is willing to do for Tetsuya, and what Tetsuya is willing to do for him.

* * *

 

It manifests as clear as day in Seijuurou’s memories.

They are in the middle of hellscape, demons warring with other demons. Tetsuya sticks out like a sore thumb amidst all of them, his aura with a different glare as he frantically makes his way to Seijuurou’s side, the look in his eyes never looking back to the demons that he has cast aside.

There is a sea of blood forming beneath them, a creation spurred from their convictions.

Even after all of it, Tetsuya’s robes are clean and spotless. None of it touches him, not quite like how seeing Seijuurou does. Tetsuya has personally made his powers clear to the inhabitants of the Netherworld that have stood in his way, and now, standing relentlessly in front of Seijuurou, they are undoubtedly their parents’ children.

It is Seijuurou who expresses his surprise and extends his greetings. “What are you doing here?”

Beside him, Lord Tsutomu is dead, still recognizable. Seijuurou hadn’t inflicted more than what was necessary, ending it with a quick slit to the throat.

Tetsuya answers that question, drawing closer to him. “I came to see you.”

Somehow, Tetsuya knows what others don’t. He knows what Seijuurou needs to hear, wants to hear most above everything as he joins their hands together.

“It is done, Tetsuya.”

“I know.” Tetsuya cups his cheeks and stares into his soul. Reflected in his eyes is sympathy, because they both know they’re too late.

Fire dances around them, threatening to consume. The voices in his head quiet down, and the silence that settles makes him at peace with himself.

“You will always be my Sei.”

Seijuurou remembers how he emerged that day a changed man, because when he opens his eyes again, it’s with a crown resting on his head. His mother’s crown has become his own, and he is alone in a sea of sinners. Tetsuya’s eyes stare back in the darkness.

_Always._

In these reserved moments of thought, it is when Seijuurou realizes his deepest wish. In his own way, their father is delivering Judgment through Tetsuya. He’s not about to make the same mistake that Seijuurou made with his own mother.

Tetsuya will be fine on his own, yet he sorely wishes – _there it is_ – that he could be there by his side throughout their lifetime – and yet –

They are simply too far away, their paths taking a very clear parallel with no tangent in sight.

Whether or not Tetsuya will change is something beyond his control. Seijuurou knows this. In many ways, Tetsuya already has changed, but that hasn’t ever stopped Seijuurou from loving him in the way that he does.

* * *

 

“What am I to you?”

“You provide me with a sense of self,” Seijuurou tells him. “And for that I am indebted to you.”

Tetsuya smiles, without reservations or preemptions. They both need this.

“What am I to you, Tetsuya?”

Tetsuya looks up at him. “You already know that.”

“Perhaps I don’t know it well enough.”

Tetsuya does waver too, and he never hesitates to let Seijuurou see this.

 “A brother, a treasured friend. You…” Behind him, Tetsuya’s wings flap gently. They curl, enclosing the space around them – a world with no one else but them. In those blue depths, Seijuurou sees the future mirrored in them.

Tetsuya kisses his cheek, averting his gaze. “This doesn’t have to change anything.” He whispers. They’re both close to each other, and Seijuurou can hear Tetsuya’s heartbeat, his thoughts. There is nothing hidden between them. The hesitation is gone.          

“You’re right,” Seijuurou says firmly, managing a smile. “It doesn’t.”

When they are led through the doors, it is to have Tetsuya wedded, and to make him king.

**Author's Note:**

> You're not alone in thinking they're acting like freaking soulmates.  
> A recent tv show I watched involved "the wrath of the lamb" (real subtle I wonder what tv show that isssssssss). Same applies to Kuroko. He appears to be a lamb to heaven's wolves, but he's anything but.  
> Someday I will write a fic where Shiori is alive. That day is close. I need alive!Shiori so bad WHY IS SHE ALWAYS DEAD IN MY FICS  
> Thank you so much for reading! <3


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